The 2014 d'Armailhac has been uncorked and other ramblings...

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 10:40 pm

What a pleasant surprise, I thought I had only a sealed case left of this in my cellar, at least per cellar tracker, but I found a loose bottle in row 19 of rack C....

Let's get it on!

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 10:55 pm

Man, what a week. Crazy times in the court system, it is literally collapsing before our eyes. I have 16 felony cases scheduled for docket call on Tuesday, meaning that, at least theoretically, I'm supposed to be doing 16 jury trials in the months of November and December. That's all supposed to happen before January, when we are supposed to start our two-month murder case in East Buttfuck, Alaska. I'm not going to do 16 jury trials, of course, but I'm expected to be prepared to litigate all of those cases. The bigger problem is that 9 or my 16 cases involve incarcerated clients, most of whom have been in jail for at least 6 months awaiting trial, one for 22 months. If we don't get to their cases in November/December, then they won't comer to trial until after I get back from Alaska, which won't be til the Spring of 2022 at the earliest. And the prosecutors are showing no signs of settling cases, they want incarceration, and more incarceration. Meantime, more poor people sit wasting away. And the judges just don't seem to care. the Constitution be damned. Are things this bad in the criminal courts down in FLA, OB?

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 11:05 pm

Got my booster shot today, and my regular flu shot.
After I get the Alaska case behind me I want to see this pandemic gone and I really, really want to get back to traveling.
We had a plan of doing one major trip per quarter before the pandemic hit, and were well on our way.
We had a list all written out, including Tokyo, a swing through Hong Kong/Shanghai/Beijing, Rome/Tuscany (never been to Italy), Greece, Iceland, Poland, Turkey, Buenos Aires (I want to find the kid -- he must be about 20 now -- who I wrote my novel "Lisbon Street" about), and, oh yes, get back up to Oh Canada! Oh, and Paris/Bordeaux, Bourgogne, the Rhone Valley, London, and more.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 11:07 pm

We want to go to Cape Town, as well, I hear Cape Town is quite a city.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 11:07 pm

Speaking of Canada....

Free at last!!!!

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 11:10 pm

Finding the d'Armailhac very accessible in the early get-go.
The two or three times I've had it previously I really liked it, sort of a medium bodied version of the A+ 2014 Clerc Milon.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 11:11 pm

Was at Fenway the other night for the clincher against the Rays, Gerry, man the place was rocking!
I'll be there Monday night for Game 3 against the 'Stros.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 11:28 pm

Man, Fenway Park in October.
The beauty of baseball in New England.
The chill of October, the leaves in final splendor.
Baseball, the metaphor of life, even more pronounced in the four seasons of New England.
The renewal and rebirth of hope in the spring.
The glorious fun and life of summer.
The cool nights of fall, a poignancy that all is coming to an end.
The death and misery of winter around the corner.
But, alas, one last burst of splendor....
Almost always, for all but one of the 32 MLB teams, a Sisyphean effort leading inevitably to defeat.
And yet, always, until the bitter end, there is that hope....
And sometimes, like with this Red Sox team, like is often the case with life itself...
We have an unexpected surprise... A pennant run... in the midst of the shortening days of New England.
The return to school, the return to college in Boston.
And it gives us an extra hop in our steps, makes all of our troubles just a bit more tolerable.
Perhaps because it spans three seasons -- heck, all four, really, when you follow the off-season dealings, leading up to pitchers and catchers-- perhaps because it spans the seasons, baseball becomes ingrained in the New England experience.
You may be a college kid from New Jersey going to BU, never knew anything about the Red Sox, and now you are the biggest fan along with your roomies.
You may be a girl from China, don't have the first idea of the rules of the game, but when you set foot in Fenway for the first time, you decide you are going to read the rule book from front to back, and are hooked on the sport forever.
The elderly person living alone, or in elderly housing... looking forward to those difficult evening hours, an escape for 3-4 hours back to the freedom of childhood.
But...
What the fuck are they doing starting Chris Sale tonight!

Ugh. The Astros look tough....

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sat Oct 16, 2021 12:38 am

I really like this 2014 d’Arnailhac. It’s obviously not as big as the 2014 Clerc Milon. It is ruby colored, to Clerc Milon’s opaque purple. The Clerc is a “legend in the making,” in my book. It is big, inky, black, heavily sedimented. This 2014 d’Armailhac is closer to a Lafite than a Mouton, in my opinion. Where are these vines relative to the pesticide infected Mouton acreage, north, south, east or west?

Nicklasss · Post by **Nicklasss** » Sat Oct 16, 2021 1:15 am

Yes Jim. US border will be open for canadians soon.

Let start thinking of a possible date for a visit, between your intermixed trials.

I'm just back from moose hunting and we did not kill this year

. Need a BWE offline to compensate.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sat Oct 16, 2021 1:20 am

Thank goodness you didn’t kill one of those kind helpless fellow living creatures, Nic! Yes, we’ll figure out a time to meet, it has been way, way too long.

Gerry M. · Post by **Gerry M.** » Sat Oct 16, 2021 1:28 am

Damn Jim, I haven't been to a Sox game in 3 years. I wont pay scalper prices and my sources have dried up. I do miss it so. One of my friends had season tix behind home plate in the row right behind Peter Gammons' seats. Go Sox!!

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sat Oct 16, 2021 1:37 am

I got this d’Armailhac for some crazy low price, under $30. This is just a beautifully balanced Pauillac, I dunno, I guess this will be a different wine three blanquitoes from now, but for my palate this is offering a great amount of classic 2014 Pauillac right now. Delicious. 93+ points.

Geez, Gerry, all you had to do was go on redsox.com at 10am this morning, plenty of tickets available. I got loge box seats for Monday night.

Gerry M. · Post by **Gerry M.** » Sat Oct 16, 2021 1:45 am

I'll have to check it out. I've just been used to Ace Ticket and the other "legal " ticket outlets charging 3 to 4 times face value.

Gerry M. · Post by **Gerry M.** » Sat Oct 16, 2021 1:45 am

Fat finger double post, lol

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Sat Oct 16, 2021 2:03 am

Hernandez the star so far.
Not sure how a player named Ottavino would get on with a bunch of wine enthusiasts.

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Sat Oct 16, 2021 3:42 am

After Ottavino, they should’ve brought in Cleansingale.

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Sat Oct 16, 2021 4:27 am

I really thought Boston was going to pull it out.
Tomorrow…

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sat Oct 16, 2021 2:52 pm

Yeah you can’t miss opportunities against that team.
Big missed opportunity, we’ve got our ace going today.

stefan · Post by **stefan** » Sat Oct 16, 2021 4:14 pm

In my experience, D'Armailhac often drinks well at age seven. That being the case, I am surprised that Jimbo does not consider it over the hill.

OrlandoRobert · Post by **OrlandoRobert** » Sat Oct 16, 2021 4:16 pm

JimHow wrote: ↑Sat Oct 16, 2021 1:37 am I got this d’Armailhac for some crazy low price, under $30. This is just a beautifully balanced Pauillac, I dunno, I guess this will be a different wine three blanquitoes from now, but for my palate this is offering a great amount of classic 2014 Pauillac right now. Delicious. 93+ points.

Geez, Gerry, all you had to do was go on redsox.com at 10am this morning, plenty of tickets available. I got loge box seats for Monday night.

I think it was like $28-$30 on futures. An excellent buy. I scored a case of 2012 on close-out for $20 per. Just stoopid pricing.

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Sat Oct 16, 2021 9:25 pm

Boston hitters have shown up tonight!

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sat Oct 16, 2021 9:43 pm

They got their hitting shoes on tonight!

Nicklasss · Post by **Nicklasss** » Sun Oct 17, 2021 12:38 am

JimHow wrote: ↑Sat Oct 16, 2021 1:20 am Thank goodness you didn’t kill one of those kind helpless fellow living creatures, Nic!

And what about lobsters? The same story.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sun Oct 17, 2021 1:04 am

We don't shoot them, Nicola, we just slowly, agonizingly, steam them to death.
When you coming down to the great State of Maine!

AKR · Post by **AKR** » Sun Oct 17, 2021 3:22 am

Gerry M. wrote: ↑Sat Oct 16, 2021 1:28 am Damn Jim, I haven't been to a Sox game in 3 years. I wont pay scalper prices and my sources have dried up. I do miss it so. One of my friends had season tix behind home plate in the row right behind Peter Gammons' seats. Go Sox!!

Wow, that's a name I have not heard upon decades upon decades. Is Peter Gammons still around? I used to read his collumn in the late 80's and 90's.

That d'Armailhac sounds like a winner.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sun Oct 17, 2021 7:12 am

Yeah remember his big full page Sunday columns in the Boston Globe, I used to read them religiously while I was in school in Boston in the late 70s and early 80s.

Racer Chris · Post by **Racer Chris** » Sun Oct 17, 2021 11:09 am

I've bought 453 bottles of 2014 Bordeaux from 67 chateaux, but didn't find an opportunity to acquire any 2014 Ch. d'Armailhac.
I rarely see it at a price that's attractive to me, so have only purchased a few bottles of d'Armailhac here and there.
I enjoyed the second of my three 2010s back in March, which prompted me to purchase a six-pack of 2019 en primeur.

Gerry M. · Post by **Gerry M.** » Sun Oct 17, 2021 3:08 pm

AKR wrote: ↑Sun Oct 17, 2021 3:22 am
Gerry M. wrote: ↑Sat Oct 16, 2021 1:28 am Damn Jim, I haven't been to a Sox game in 3 years. I wont pay scalper prices and my sources have dried up. I do miss it so. One of my friends had season tix behind home plate in the row right behind Peter Gammons' seats. Go Sox!!
Wow, that's a name I have not heard upon decades upon decades. Is Peter Gammons still around? I used to read his collumn in the late 80's and 90's.

That d'Armailhac sounds like a winner.

I think he's pretty much retired now. In the recent past ESPN troted him out go offer some historical perspective during the baseball playoffs. He's a really nice guy. Once he realized we wouldnt harrass him during the game he relaxed and you could tell he truely loved the game, especially with his grandkids.

Chris, over 400 2014's? Wow You OWN 2014.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sun Oct 17, 2021 3:13 pm

Wow, I thought I had a lot at 222.

JoelD · Post by **JoelD** » Sun Oct 17, 2021 3:52 pm

Racer Chris wrote: ↑Sun Oct 17, 2021 11:09 am I've bought 453 bottles of 2014 Bordeaux from 67 chateaux, but didn't find an opportunity to acquire any 2014 Ch. d'Armailhac.
I rarely see it at a price that's attractive to me, so have only purchased a few bottles of d'Armailhac here and there.
I enjoyed the second of my three 2010s back in March, which prompted me to purchase a six-pack of 2019 en primeur.

Wow, I'm feeling naked at only 45 bottles. 2016 is a much healthier 103. Although almost half of that is Capbern and Calon Segur.

Guess I need to work harder on backfilling

Racer Chris · Post by **Racer Chris** » Sun Oct 17, 2021 5:01 pm

I said I bought that many, not that I currently have that many bottles.

I'm down to 197 according to Cellartracker.

JoelD · Post by **JoelD** » Sun Oct 17, 2021 6:14 pm

Racer Chris wrote: ↑Sun Oct 17, 2021 5:01 pm I said I bought that many, not that I currently have that many bottles.
I'm down to 197 according to Cellartracker.

Wow, I'm not sure what's more impressive. The fact that you purchased that many or the fact that you've already drunk that many!

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sun Oct 17, 2021 6:38 pm

The beauty of d’Armailhac is that it is an unmistakable expression of Pauillac at a usually reasonable price. I’m going to buy a case of the 2019. I’m assuming the $40ish price at Zachys is about what we are going to expect for this 2019 release? Have any 2019s been hitting the shelves yet?

Racer Chris · Post by **Racer Chris** » Sun Oct 17, 2021 6:46 pm

JoelD wrote: ↑Sun Oct 17, 2021 6:14 pm
Racer Chris wrote: ↑Sun Oct 17, 2021 5:01 pm I said I bought that many, not that I currently have that many bottles.
I'm down to 197 according to Cellartracker.
Wow, I'm not sure what's more impressive. The fact that you purchased that many or the fact that you've already drunk that many!

To be fair, the vast majority were Cru Bourgeois and below.

Jim, none of my 2019 futures have arrived yet, and I've only seen low end wines actually on shelves anywhere.

Dandersson · Post by **Dandersson** » Wed Oct 20, 2021 1:39 pm

Ch d"Armailhac 2014, is an awesome wine. It has so much of that addictive Pauillac fruit. Great wine! Wish I had bought several bottles. Have to look forward to the 16/17/18/19/20s of these since I don't have any 2014.

The 2019s I have seen are just Ch Lecuyer Pomerol, Ch Mongravey 2019 Margaux (never had these), and Ch Bellegrave (Pauillac).

Comte Flaneur · Post by **Comte Flaneur** » Wed Oct 20, 2021 6:43 pm

When did you try it Dan? What were your impressions?
That train appears to be leaving the station, I had my heart set on a six pack at a good price but when I went back to look again it had already been lifted.

Dandersson · Post by **Dandersson** » Thu Oct 21, 2021 12:32 pm

Comte I had the 2014 d'Armailhac back in 2019, and it was great already then, great structure and alluring pure Pauillac fruit, I think it will drink well for another 10 years at least. If you can find it for prices lower than the 16, I would go for it.
It was much cheaper back then. I am currently mostly filling up on Bordeaux 16 and 18. But if I find some well priced 14s I would buy.
Since I don't drink these wines that often I am still exploring Chateaux and vintages, and focus on getting to know estates by trying several vintages.

Best, Dan

Jay Winton · Post by **Jay Winton** » Thu Oct 21, 2021 1:48 pm

I've read that 2019 is THE year for so called petite chateaus. Discuss.